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In addition to this monthly newsletter, the Henry A. Wallace Institute for
Alternative Agriculture publishes the American Journal of Alternative
Agriculture, a quarterly, peer-reviewed journal of research on
alternative agriculture. It is a scientific forum for disseminating technical,
economic, and social research findings about the character and requirements of
alternative agriculture systems.

The Government of Canada has introduced a new National Standard of Canada
for Organic Agriculture that "can be recognized and applied in markets
around the globe," according to John Manley, the Minister of Industry who
is responsible for the Standards Council of Canada. "For Canadian producers
of organic agri-foods produce, this will translate to greater and easier access
to international markets that demand these kinds of standards."

The standard was developed through the Canadian General Standards
Board's Standards Committee on Organic Agriculture, which includes various
technical experts, and announced through the Standards Council of Canada, which
promotes efficient and effective standardization. The standard "outlines
principles for organic agriculture that endorse sound production and management
practices to enhance the quality and sustainability of the environment and
ensure the ethical treatment of livestock." Specifically, it prohibits the
use of ionizing radiation in the preservation of food, prohibits the use of
genetically engineered or modified organisms, encourages maximum use of
recycling, and encourages maximum rotation of crops and promotion of
biodiversity.

The scope of the standard includes production
plans and records; crop and livestock production; production requirements for
maple products, honey, greenhouse crops, mushrooms, sprouted plants, and wild
and natural products; the production and processing of organic products; and the
packaging, labeling, storage, and distribution of organic food products.

"This new National Standard of Canada will provide consumers
with a consistent meaning for 'organic,' helping them to make more informed
choices," said Lyle Vanclief, Canadian Minister of Agriculture and
Agri-Food.

The Rockefeller Foundation has asked the Monsanto Company to stop using the "terminator"
gene, which makes plant seeds sterile, according to The Wall Street Journal
(June 28, 1999). "Work on the terminator gene is controversial among rural
development groups because it would prevent farmers from keeping some of their
harvest for seed, a common practice in poor regions," the article said. "Gordon
Conway, president of the New York foundation, appealed to Monsanto's directors
at a board meeting in Washington. Dr. Conway's speech was the first time the
Rockefeller Foundation has taken a public stand on the terminator gene, and it
is now the most prestigious organization to turn against it."

Dr.
Conway said in an interview that he is worried that the backlash over the
terminator gene is damaging public support for crop biotechnology in general,
which might slow research that could benefit poor farmers overseas, according to
the article. The Rockefeller Foundation is spending more than $100 million on
crop biotechnology projects. Dr. Conway said that putting labels on foods that
contain ingredients from genetically modified crops would help ease consumer
fears about biotechnology. "I'm very worried we'll see a movement to ban
field trials," he said. "If we don't have field trials, we can't
figure out the benefits and risks."

This country's farm policy has failed farmers, "as demonstrated by the
past 40 or 50 years of accelerating damage," according to an op/ed piece in
The New York Times by Kentucky farmer and writer Wendell Berry (July 6,
1999).

"We have lost farmers in staggering numbers, mainly
because of economic adversity," he wrote. "For generations we have
given nothing to farm-raised children but reasons to leave home. Our farm
communities have disintegrated everywhere. Ninety percent of our cropland is
losing topsoil to erosion faster than the replacement rate. Our failed small
farms have been replaced by chemical-dependent monocultures and animal
factories, which have become major sources of pollution....

"I
cannot see why a healthful, dependable, ecologically sound
farm-and-farmer-conserving agricultural economy is not a primary goal of this
country. I know that I am not alone, and that farmers are not alone, in wishing
to see such a policy....Any politicians who now think that only farmers care
about farming or have an interest in it are wrong. They will have to think
again."

The Commission on 21st Century Production Agriculture will hold three public
listening sessions in September "to gather stakeholder input on the future
of agricultural policy in the United States after 2002." The sessions will
be in Chicago, IL, September 21; Montgomery, AL, September 23; and Scranton, PA,
September 25. To appear before the Commission, participants must register
through the Commission's Web site at
http://www.agcommission.org, or by
contacting the Commission, Public Listening Session Sign-Up, Room 3702 South
Building, 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC. 20250-0524. More
information is available on the Web site or from Tim Peters at (202) 720-4860.

The USDA seeks nominations to fill four upcoming vacancies on the National
Organic Standards Board. Written nominations and resumes must be postmarked by
September 20. More information is available on the NOSB's Web site at
http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop, or from
Keith Jones, National Organic Program, (202) 720-3252.

Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman last month called for an independent
scientific review of the USDA's biotech approval process to ensure that "our
scientists have the best information and tools to ensure our regulatory
capabilities continue to evolve along with advances in the new technology."

In a speech at the National Press Club, Glickman said the USDA will
propose establishing regional centers to evaluate biotech products over a long
period of time and to provide information to growers, consumers, researchers,
and regulators. He also requested "all developers of biotech products to
report any unexpected or potentially adverse effects to the Department of
Agriculture upon discovery," and established a Secretary's Advisory
Committee on Agricultural Biotechnology.

The committee will include
people from government, academia, production agriculture, agribusiness, and
ethical, environmental and consumer groups to provide advice on biotech issues
and policies.

The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture is seeking proposals for its
Competitive Grants Program, which funds research, education, and demonstration
projects. The deadline for submissions is Thursday, September 2. Funding for
approved projects will begin on July 1, 2000. More information is available
from the Center, Iowa State University, 209 Curtiss Hall, Ames, IA 50011-1050;
(515) 294-3711; e-mail
leocenter@iastate.edu.; on the
Internet, http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/.

Researchers at the USDA's Agricultural Research Service have placed about
3,000 eggs of Chinese leaf beetles in experimental field cages in six states as
the first step in a biological control program for the invasive weed saltcedar,
according to the USDA.

Saltcedar has infested rivers and streams in
the West and increases soil salinity, changes streamflows, and increases
wildfire frequency. Saltcedar was brought to this country in 1837 to protect
streambanks from erosion, but has spread enough to be crowding out plants
crucial to wildlife. The leaf beetles eat only Old World species of saltcedar,
according to the ARS. When the beetles are ultimately approved for release
outside cages, they should spread out several hundred feet a year to infest
other saltcedar plants.

September 13-15, "Composting and Organics Recycling--Strategies for
Project Success," the BioCycle Northeast Conference, will be held in
Portland, ME; contact BioCycle, 419 State Ave., Emmaus, PA 18049;
1-800-661-4905.

September 23-25, "Reweaving the World," the 11th Annual
International Conference of the Society for Ecological Restoration, will be
held in San Francisco, CA; contact SER, 1207 Seminole Highway, Suite B,
Madison, WI 53711; (608) 262-9547.

September 30-October 3, "The Hope of the Harvest is in the Seed,"
the 20th Annual Conference of the American Community Gardening Association,
will be held in Philadelphia, PA; contact Patricia Schrieber, Philadelphia
Green, (215) 988-8841; e-mail pschrieb@pennhort.org.